The Immortal Platform houses a peculiar breed of bird, brought to life by feeding on jade. Once the bird feeds on jade cared for by a specific person, it will not accept any other jade. Consequently, each Inspector-General carries a jade bead, reflecting the dynamics of their corresponding bird.
There are two primary uses for these Soul Birds.
First, they are used for delivering messages. These birds fly extraordinarily fast with exceptional precision in locating their recipient. They display profound spirituality, swiftly delivering urgent messages to the correct individuals.
Second, they are used for announcing death. If the bird's master suddenly passes away, the energy of the jade bead they carry would gradually fade. Left without food, the bird would fly back to the God City Immortal Platform. The sight of the bird signifies the death of the person, hence the phrase "Soul Bead and Soul Bird." This adds a layer of safety for Immortal Platform inspectors who venture into dangerous territories alone. The bird isn't usually with its master, making it hard for enemies to kill both simultaneously.
However, sometimes this process is too lengthy. By the time the news reaches the Platform, the murderer is often nowhere to be found, hence the need for an emergency plan. If Inspectors find themselves in a desperate situation, they hastily destroy the energy in the jade by shattering it, burning it, or throwing it in deep water. Usually, within a few hours of doing this, the Soul Bird flies back to the Immortal Platform.
The journey from Fenghuai to the State City of Bowang is about 300 miles. Usually, the Soul Bird wouldn't take more than an hour for the round trip. Even though the Soul Bird doesn't get affected by thunderstorms, its speed inevitably lags. Accounting for this, two hours would be a generous estimate. However, more than six hours had passed since the bird had been set free, and it still hadn't returned.
The people at the county office couldn't even pinpoint where the container might have happened. The most frightening possibility was that the State City didn't get the message at all.
"We don't know what to do now." Shen Yanping said hoarsely. Pei Ye noticed his hand unconsciously extended then tightly gripped the hilt of his sword, presumably due to a thin layer of cold sweat, "Taking action or standing still might just be the difference between seeking death and waiting for it."
"We eventually decided to let you all leave separately. At least... those who aren't selected won't be killed." Chang Zhiyuan continued, "One thing to note is..."
It seemed like the rest of his sentence took a considerable amount of his strength. His normally straight back seemed to slump, and his sword-like white eyebrows drooped. Still, he forced out the words: "You'd better... not let them go home."
Pei Ye stood silent, not saying a word.
The young men in the room couldn't have thought that what awaited them wasn't the continuation of the story they'd been eagerly waiting for. Instead, they were met with an inevitable abandonment.
"We will die before them." Shen Yanping whispered.
Pei Ye knew that if no outsiders stepped in, this could be the least painful plan, but he felt a heavy burden on his heart. He gave a grunt in response, put the two reports on the table, and turned to leave.
Just then, the storm seemed to stop, and the armored body in front of the platform stood up abruptly.
Everyone turned to look, but Feng Zhi remained silent.
"Lord Feng? What's wrong?" Shen Yanping approached with furrowed brows.
Feng Zhi slowly turned his head, his eyes wide in shock, his beard bristling, and a bloody gash across his throat.
He opened his mouth soundlessly, blood gushing from the corners of his mouth. His massive body collapsed onto the ground.
The heavy iron armor was unable to save him.
Everyone felt as if their throats were choked by iron, and a chill crawled up their skin.
The light from the room slipped out, revealing the scene outside the door.
A man in a black robe stood erect in the yard. Under the wet rain and a slight breeze, the handle of a slender knife protruding from under his robe was barely visible. He held his left hand on the hilt, the knife freshly sheathed.
His boots were so new they seemed recently made.
He didn't look at the people in the lobby but kept his head down, appearing calm and concentrated.
Yet, no one doubted the violent wrath under his tranquillity, the body under the black robe ready to snatch anyone's life.
The moment this man came into sight, Pei Ye felt goosebumps rise like a child facing a tiger. His heart pounded like a drum, and his limbs stiffened with tension.
The Blue Bird failed to deliver the news timely, yet a deadly enemy had shown up in the courtyard.
The most decisive was still Shen Yanping. He opened a porcelain bottle and swallowed all the Dan medicine inside in one go.
Simultaneously, with Chang Zhiyuan's furious scream of "Run!", Pei Ye employed all of his strength to sprint towards the backyard.
It felt like his blood exploded in his stomach. Shen Yanping's eyes turned blood-red. His dense True Qi disrupted his headwear, and his gentle and refined face turned ferocious due to the anger.
To understand the swordsmanship of the Jiaosnake, one must first comprehend the way of the cloud and the thunder. The core of the 'Cloud Kneading' swordsmanship from Little Cloud Mountain lies in the fusion and transformation between elegance and violence. The young student of the ninth generation was soft and easygoing. He was lazy in practicing martial arts. His cultivation stopped at the 'Five Level' and didn't want to work harder. His swordsmanship also only captured the changing softness of the word "cloud" but didn't grasp the real meaning of "thunder".
Perhaps it was because he spent time with his master drinking tea, playing chess, and chatting about various subjects. Before descending the mountain to serve the Immortal Platform, he was given a bottle of Thunder Pill imbued with his master's True Qi. Given his martial skills and the protection of this Thunder Pill, it should've been a relaxing and carefree life, even if he took a remote mountain county post as a regular Inspector.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Now, even if he used all of the Thunder Pills, it would only delay his impending demise.
With robes as light as clouds and True Qi as strong as thunder, Shen Yanping burst out of the door. His sheering momentum forced the man in black to step back.
His sword struck like thunder; Shen Yanping attacked again, causing the man in black to retreat again.
But after this strike, the consequence of consuming many Thunder Pills together began to surface. Numerous tiny bloody wounds opened all over Shen Yanping's skin. His face, twisted due to rage, became even more terrifying.
He had a maximum of four strikes left.
Feeling his own body, Shen Yanping concluded this.
After one more strike, the man in black managed to dodge Shen Yanping's sword without drawing his blade. As they passed each other, Shen Yanping saw a young, cold, and cruel face under the hood, a mocking smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.
To the man in black, Shen Yanping was like a fish already in the pot, flipping around due to lack of oxygen. It wasn't that he couldn't capture it, he just didn't want to get smeared with blood. He only needed to wait for ten seconds when it adjusts its breathing, then he could easily catch it and behead it in one stroke.
Therefore, even though he knew the last two strikes would result in imminent death, Shen Yanping didn't dare stop. Any gap between the strikes would give the opponent a chance to deliver a fatal blow.
Another strike, they brushed past a locust tree, and the leaves disrupted by the thunderous energy pierced into the ground like darts.
Only two strikes were left.
In the backyard, the startled young men poured out of the rooms. Frantically, Pei Ye handed the reins to each person who hadn't explicitly said "I can't ride a horse."
"Try to go as far as possible! Head to the mountains! Dive into the river! Go to the forest! Or head to State City! Anything!"
"If," Pei Ye tore off the band from his forehead and pointed to the fire mark, "you see a person you're traveling with has this mark on their face, those without the mark should immediately distance themselves from him! Understood?!"
"Understood."
The boys didn't understand the cruelty in his words. Pei Ye gazed at these naive youngsters, some even shook so violently they couldn't hold onto the reins.
How could they possibly escape from the deadly pursuit of the bandits.
The best outcome is that those who "deserve to die" do die.